Roses & Thorns
by Bluuie
Summary: When the three remaining survivors, Rochelle, Nick, and Ellis, meet up in a burning hotel, what will make of them? Will the small bond grow bigger between the three, or will it be shattered at the hands of the infected?


A young man, around the age of 23, came stumbling out in to the corridor of the hotel which was slowly being consumed by flames.

"Where… the hell… is Keith?" the boy managed to gasp out as he leaned against a wall for support to catch up his breath.

Ellis had been separated from his friend, Keith, when the ceiling above them crumbled down between the two of them, separating the pair. Now, Ellis was on his own to manage his way out.

Conveniently, he had found a pair of pistols lying around on a table, of what looked like, a conference room. His grip tightened on the handle of the guns when he heard the not too far off inhuman cries of people who had been affected by the Green Flu. He shuddered at the thought of losing everything to one flu.

One damn flu that ruined the lives of millions of people.

The deep thoughts had caught him of guard, and he was taken by a surprise attack of a small creature that had latched on to the back of his head, and began to ride him around like a horse.

"The shit?" came out of a muffled scream behind the hands of the infected, "Get it off!"

The creature, known to the remaining people who lived, was a Jockey, which rode Ellis, along with itself, right in to a wall. It mustn't have been very smart, because it immediately jumped off the mechanic, squealing with pain as it took off. This left Ellis deserted once more in the building that was eventually going to be ashes in a matter of time.

He crumpled to the floor, head in hands, and faint from the smoke engulfing him. He needed to escape, and fast, if he wanted to get out alive.

..........

A middle aged man, 35, shot over his shoulder as he ran from a horde of infected individuals chasing after him.

"Fucking zombies got my suit dirty!" he cursed under his breath, baring his teeth angrily. It was simply a fact - his suit, which was a pure white, was slowly being dyed a blood red, most belonging to the infected. He didn't believe that anyone, alive or half dead, would dare simply touch, let alone injured him.

This was the day he was proved wrong.

These things were strong, but how? They were just people who suffered through a horrible flu.

That's where his thoughts were interrupted. His foot had snagged on something, causing him to fall flat to the floor, sending his gun away from him.

"Shit!" Nick hissed, looking up to see the infected gaining on him.

He looked over at what he had stumbled on. It was a man, younger than him, with his eyes closed.

Nick withdrew out of fear. For all he knew, this kid was turning in to one of them. He raced for the gun that slid across the ground, but was stopped at the foot of a zombie right in front of him.

"That's it. I'm screwed." he choked out as the zombie lashed out at him, dragging it's abnormally long claws down the side of his face, which would leave a nice long scar in the morning.

That is, if morning would ever come for him.

..........

Rochelle massaged her forehead gently as she paced back and forth.

"Oooh, how could this day get any worse?" she mumbled, stopping for a quick moment to overlook the darkened city below, "Oh sure, Rochelle. Go and get a report on the people affected by the Green Flu. Hah! More like be surrounded by these infected people that want to eat every organ in my body!"

The woman's knuckles had turned white due to her extremely tight grip on the handle of the axe she was carrying.

"Damn it!" she screamed, though kept her voice quiet enough as to not alert anything lurking in the shadows. With her burning rage, she began marching around the halls, unaffected by the heat of the flames scorching everything around her. She kept on until something caught her eyes.

The sight almost caused her to drop her axe. Before her was a mesh of infected swarming around a body, cowering on the ground. Blood was pooled around, and she couldn't tell if the person was alive or not. That was, until the man looked up at her. There was a look of sheer terror, and pleading in his hazy green eyes.

"Stay the fuck away from him!" she screeched, lunging forward, the axe wielded as if a baseball bat. She brought the axe head right through the neck of the zombie who was clawing at Nick. All the infected who were once latching on to the conman were now going for the newer flesh of the woman.

Rochelle shut her eyes tightly as blood sprayed from all directions across her face. She swung blindly all around her, only knowing she had hit one of the creatures when she felt something collide with her weapon.

Soon, the clashing seemed to end, and she dropped on her knees beside the bloody white-suited man. "You… alright?" she breathed heavily, letting her axe lay limply at her side.

Nick was speechless. Never before had he needed help, and when he did, he wasn't expecting a girl to save his ass.

"Uh… Yeah." he mumbled, painfully lifting himself up to his feet. Hesitantly, he extended his hand towards Rochelle to help her up. She accepted the offer, and pulled herself up with the help of Nick.

A soft groan nearby drew their attention back to the young man who had been unconscious.

"Oh shit!" Rochelle whispered, scurrying to his side. She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, lifting his chin up so he could look at her.

"What happened to you?"

Nick stepped up beside Rochelle. "No clue who the kid is. Probably infected, anyways. Should I kill him?"

This jolted Ellis back from his potential dreamland. "N...no!" he stammered, "I'm not infected!"

Nick narrowed his eyes, looking over the mechanic. "And you're sure of that?" Rochelle added in cautiously.

Ellis nodded, biting his lower lip nervously. "Names Ellis, if that helps."

Rochelle smiled faintly, dragging Ellis up to his feet. "Can you walk?" she asked, more concerned than before.

Ellis simply shrugged. "I should be fine. Thanks."

They were all interrupted when a screaming sound turned down into the corridor, along with a large man racing towards them.

"Shiiiiiiittttt!" he was yelling at the top of his voice.

The figure behind him caught the three of their attention. Nick was the first to react, pulling Rochelle back, who was still holding on to Ellis.

The older man passed right by the three, looking over his shoulder just in time to be greeted by a Charger's large arm. It sent the both of them right out of a window, flat on to the ground.

Nick, followed by Rochelle and Ellis, ran to the shattered glass, looking out towards the ground.

"That ot'ta hurt." Ellis muttered, slowly reaching up to pull his hat off of his head, placing it in front of his heart.

"No shit, Sherlock." Nick hissed, glaring at the boy.

Ellis tilted his head and returned the gaze at the conman. "Ma name isn't Sherlock. It's Ellis."

Rochelle hit her hand on her forehead while Nick groaned. Deciding not to get irritated, he got up, beginning to walk away from the two.

Rochelle turned after him, scurrying to his side. "And where do you think you're going?" she asked softly, looking up towards Nick.

Nick looked thoughtfully at her for a moment. "Far, far away from here."


End file.
